Meatless Mondays

As a Weight Watchers member, I'm open to trying just about anything new. Sometimes what I learn from the program works great (e.g. mindfulness, portion control, tracking, activity), other times not so much (e.g. "Put your negative thoughts on a conveyor"? Really??).

Recently, the idea of introducing a Meatless Monday into the weekly routine was floated. The idea comes with a number of benefits... Reduced cholesterol, higher fiber options, an incentive to try more vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables. That said, and in support of Meatless Monday supporters everywhere, I'm sharing my homemade hummus recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!



Tim's One Blender Tahini and Hummus

INGREDIENTS

TAHINI
1 c untoasted sesame seeds
3-4 tblsp. olive oil

HUMMUS
2 14.5 oz cans of garbanzo beans (drained except for 1/2 c. of liquid)
1/2 c reserved bean liquid
1/2 c lemon juice
4 tblsp. minced garlic
3 tsp. kosher salt
1 tblsp. (or more, to taste) of your favorite hot/pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco, etc.), or 1/2 tsp. chipotle seasoning
4 pieces of roasted red pepper from a jar, minced into 1 tblsp.-sized portions

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350. Throw 1 c of untoasted sesame seeds into a metal pan and toast in oven for 11 to 12 mins (you should smell a wonderful, toasted sesame aroma). Cool.

Toss the toasted seeds into your blender. Place the lid on the blender with the center removed so you can insert a rubber spatula to use while making the tahini. Drizzle in 1 tblsp. of olive oil, run the blender on high, and use your rubber spatula to carefully push/scrape down the sides of the blender while blending (being careful not to also blend your spatula). Stop blending, push down the seeds, and add another tblsp. of oil. Repeat the process 3 or 4 times until you have tahini the texture of thick peanut butter.

Throw all the other ingredients into the blender (leaving the center out of the blender's lid) and blend on high until smooth, blended, and creamy, using your rubber spatula to help the ingredients combine. Pour/spoon the hummus into four, ~8 oz, resealable containers, placing a dollup of minced roasted red pepper in the center of each. Serving size=3 tblsp./3 WeightWatchers Points+ (~5 servings per 8 oz. container, ~20 servings total per batch). Enjoy!

A note to social media users: Here is a sample tweet you can use to share this recipe: 

• Fast and frugal homemade hummus, made using delicious ingredients purchased mostly @AldiUSA: http://bit.ly/1P4Qt2f. #blog #foodpics #recipe

Additional acknowledgements: Portions of the above recipe were adapted from the Barefoot Contessa's hummus recipe on FoodNetwork.com (http://bit.ly/11hRadN)

A Frugal Fiesta

I noticed newly sprouted buds on a dogwood this weekend. I also heard the calls of songbirds, saw ice melting off streams and eves, and heard tell of young coyotes wandering the neighborhood in search of mates. While the weather will certainly change (and change again) here in the suburbs of Chicago before anyone fires up their lawn mower, it doesn't take the shadow of a large rodent with [supposed]meteorological tendencies to know that spring is coming.

Instead of appreciating such portents though, this weekend's warmer temperatures left me feeling cold. Nonsensical, I know, considering today's mercury rose to +40F and I was blithely tolerating subzeros just a few days ago. Regardless, I felt chilled to the bone all weekend, craving warmth above all else... Which had me thinking of home.

My hometown of Stockton is by no means your stereotypical California city. There are no Stockton surfers, no endless beaches, no tanned hardbodies rollerblading on boardwalks. Still, Stockton is considered “Someplace Special” by some, for reasons ranging from it's milder climate (especially compared to America's Heartland where I now reside) to some of the West Coast's most delicious Mexican food. With snow still piled high at every Chicagoland street corner, the thought of sitting beside glittering water outside Stockton's Waterfront Warehouse in +70F weather, enjoying a favorite Mexican dish at Nena's Restaurant was, well... Let's just say it was a warm thought.

Which brings me to the reason for today's blog. My favorite Mexican dish is a delicious concoction made up of tomatillos, green chilies, and tender chunks of meat (usually pork or chicken) called chili verde. Though common throughout California, chili verde is one dish I've been unable to find in the Chicago area, despite the fact that there are many fine Mexican restaurants here. Perhaps that's a good thing, considering that I'm now a Weight Watcher's member and traditional chili verde is hardly Weight Watcher's friendly. In addition, chili verde can be expensive to make (cost-wise, above and beyond the Weight Watcher's points). Still, as I've blogged about in the past, a few simple tips and tricks can often allow you to adapt your favorite recipes to be both Weight Watcher's compliant and frugal.

That said, here's the recipe I made this weekend, which I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

CHICKEN CHILI VERDE WITH BLACK BEANS AND RICE

INGREDIENTS (CHILI VERDE):

2 tsp olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2 medium green/bell peppers, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 tbsp (or more, to taste) Tabasco-brand green jalapeno pepper sauce (Note: 3 tbsp green chili powder can be subsituted for the Tabasco sauce if you live in the southwestern US and are looking to reduce your sodium intake (also orderable from Spice Traveler in Prescott, AZ))

2 tsp ground cumin

1 lb husked, halved tomatillos (Note: Finely dice if using a hand mixer vs a food processor or blender)

8 4oz cans of diced green chili peppers, undrained

4 chicken bouillon cubes

4 c water

INGREDIENTS (BLACK BEANS AND RICE)

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chiles (or 'Mexican-style' diced tomatoes), undrained

14.5 oz can black beans, drained

2 c brown rice (not quick/instant)

4 c water

4 beef bouillon cubes

2 tbsp margarine or butter (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Cut up uncooked chicken breasts into ~3/4” cubes, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

Puree the tomatillos and chiles in a food processor or blender (note: You can also use a mixer, as I successfully did this weekend, you simply need to finely dice the tomatillos instead of halving them). Set aside until needed.

In a graduated glass measure or other microwave-safe container, combine the bouillon cubes and water for the chili verde, and microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring periodically, until cubes are dissolved (Note: You can substitute store-bought low-fat chicken broth, I simply prefer the cubes because they're less expensive). Set aside until needed.

Lightly coat the bottom of a dutch oven or other large saucepan with oil. Finely dice the onions and the seeded green/bell peppers and saute them with the minced garlic over medium heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the cubed chicken, Tabasco green jalapeno sauce, and cumin, and continue cooking over medium heat until the chicken starts to brown, approximately 6 minutes. Add the previously prepared/set aside pureed tomatillos and chiles, and the broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for around 30 minutes. Remove 1 c of liquid from the pan, use a fork or wisk to combine it with the cornstarch, then fork/wisk the liquid back into the pan. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes until thickened.

While the chile verde is cooking, combine the undrained can of diced tomatoes with chiles plus just enough water to make 4 c, pour into a medium saucepan, add the rice, the additional 4 bouillon cubes and the drained can of black beans (Optional: You can also add 2 tbsp margarine or butter at this point). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes (Note: Consult the directions on your brown rice, as cooking times can vary with brand).

Using a measuring cup or Weight Watcher's measure, serve ½ c of the rice and beans, topped with 1 c of the chili verde. Makes 12 servings, 11 Weight Watcher's points+ per serving (Note: This is a doubled recipe, as the servings freeze and reheat nicely, especially if you freeze them and then seal them via Foodsaver after they're frozen, as illustrated above).

A note to social media users: Here is a sample tweet you can use to share this recipe: 

• A new #chiliverde #recipe, made from delicious ingredients purchased @AldiUSA: http://bit.ly/1GhiE9H. #blog #foodpics @WeightWatchers

Additional acknowledgements: Portions of the above recipe were adapted from a Turkey Chili Verde recipe from Weight Watchers (http://bit.ly/18etg76)

♫ A Stock-to-nian Treat! ♪

Like many people, I'm guessing, I grew up the child of frugal parents living in frugal circumstances. Bologna or cheese? Check! Peanut butter or homemade jelly? Check!! Though I once resented such frugality, I'm now ashamed it took me so long to appreciate the reasons behind it. Bottom line, it's easier to spend money than to save it.

My childhood featured a panoply of packaged foods that transformed inexpensive meats into main dishes... Foods like Mac n' Cheese with tuna, Hamburger Helper, Triceratops Treat (yes, I really am that old (smile)). A less common box to hit the shopping cart was "Rice or Roni: The San Francisco Treat." Years later, I discovered that, while some packaged foods are more complicated/expensive to make from scratch (e.g. mac n' cheese), making flavored/savory wild rice requires little more than tossing together a few ingredients.

That said, and in support of promoting frugality the world over, here's my latest frugal recipe......

Frugal and Savory Wild Rice 'Mix'

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c. generic/store-brand wild rice 
• 2 c. water  (Note: Amount may vary depending on the type of rice used)
• 2 cubes of generic/store-brand beef bullion 
• 2 tbsp. dried, chopped green and red sweet/bell pepper (I buy this in bulk from Penzey's or via penzeys.com) 
• 2 tbsp. generic/store-brand dried minced or chopped onion 
• 1 tbsp. margarine or butter 

DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, stir, bring to a boil over medium-high/high heat, cover, reduce heat to simmer, cook for ~45 minutes (or less/more, depending on the rice used). One-half cup per serving, serves 4.

NOTE TO READERS: If you'd like to share this blog and recipe via social media, here's a sample tweet:

• Homemade 'rice-or-roni' -♫ A Stock-to-nian treat ♪: http://bit.ly/1oicIDn #recipe #frugal #frugality #Stockton #InStockton #blog

Frugal & Flexible

In a prior blog post, I wrote about my recent attempts at frugality... Shopping at discount grocers, reading sales circulars, sticking  to shopping lists, making foods from scratch instead of buying them prepared. Planning is key, as is flexibility, whether you're making lists of ingredients or mapping out errands. For example, I now think through where I need to go in advance, sometimes putting off one errand for another day or selecting alternate store locations so as to save on gas.

Flexibility also plays into other circumstances, including ingredient selection.  Having a daughter who's been either vegetarian or vegan for a number of years, I've been adapting new ingredients to older recipes for some time now. The easiest adaptations often involve newer, prepared food products such as Tofurky Italian Sausage or Boca Crumbles that allow you to simply swap out a traditional ingredient for a vegan alternative. Such products can be expensive, though. By using other fresh ingredients such as eggplant or lentils, an equally delicious meal can be made at less cost.

Another frugal and flexible practice is to build on, and even combine, prior tried-and-true recipes as needed to meet current needs. I've recently used my favorite scratch sugar cookie dough recipe to make both fruit-filled cookies for a charity auction and a desert for the local shelter. Most recently, I combined an old scratch biscuit recipe with an adapted version of my "Quick and easy eggplant and sausage" recipe to create "pocket pizzas" that were both vegan and gluten-free.

What I really like about this recipe is that it can be shared with practically anyone, it's appropriate for both lunches and dinners, and it freezes and reheats well too (Note: If you're planning on using your FoodSaver, as I did, make sure you freeze your pocket pizzas in advance of sealing them). Here's the recipe, let me know what you think of it.

Vegan & gluten-free pocket pizzas *

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants
2 medium yellow onions
2 medium red, yellow or orange sweet peppers
Dried oregano
Course-ground sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 jar store-brand (cheese-free) pizza sauce
GoVeggie!-brand vegan 'mozzarella' shredded 'cheese'
Olive oil spray (Note: I use my own refillable olive oil sprayer filled with inexpensive Kirkland-brand olive oil)
5 cups Nameste-brand brown rice flour
2 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
5 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
5/8 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 cup shortening
1 2/3 cups soy milk

Directions

Rinse off the eggplants, remove their tops/bottoms, cut each into 3/4" cubes leaving the skin on, and soak the pieces in the refrigerator covered in brine (i.e. water with a generous sprinkling of sea salt) for approximately two hours. Preheat the oven to 375F. Coat a cookie sheet with olive oil spray. Drain the eggplant, arrange the pieces on the cookie sheet, cover with onions and sweet peppers sliced into strips, spray with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano/sea salt/fresh ground pepper, and roast for 35-40 minutes until onions/peppers start to caramelize. Combine roasted vegetables and pizza sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Stir together rice flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tarter and table salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the center; add soy milk all at once. Stir until dough clings together. Turn dough onto a cutting board lightly coated in rice flour and need gently for 10 to 12 stokes. Divide dough in two, hand form into two equally long rolls, slice each roll into six pieces.

Press or roll each piece of dough until ~7-8" in diameter, place 1/2 cup of the vegetable/sauce mixture onto each rolled/pressed circle and sprinkle shredded 'mozzarella' on top of vegetables/sauce. Brush the edges of the dough with soy milk, fold over to form half moon-shaped pies, lightly press together the dough's edges and place on olive oil-coated cookie sheets. Brush tops of pies with soy milk. Bake at 450 for 14-16 minutes until golden. Serves 12.

* NOTE: Portions of this recipe were inspired by Weight Watchers "Roasted Vegetables" recipe and Better Homes and Gardens "Biscuits Supreme" recipe.